Opinion: Let’s Give Callaway The Benefit Of The Doubt

my letter to the mets' fan base

There has been no shortage of opinions (intelligent, assinine, out-of-the-box, plainly obvious, and everything in-between) so far this spring with regards to the New York Mets’ Opening Day roster, via all media mediums.

Whether any of you, me, or even Jerry Seinfeld, agree with the final decisions Mets’ manager Mickey Callawaymakes about his roster before his team leaves for New York, as the old adage goes, it is what it is.

If Adrian Gonzaleztruly is right on track for this time of year, as he implied, and he does indeed head into the season as the Mets’ starting first-baseman, in the truest sense of the phrase, it is what it is.

If he should hit .290 and get on-base at a decent clip over the first couple of months of the season, drowning out the once-and-still deafening roars of disapproval from the Mets’ “faithful”, it will be because Mickey Callaway has faith in his decision process, as well as faith in his players.

Nothing ever will-or-won’t happen because of the uproar, silence, or general meh-ness of a long-suffering, way-past-disgruntled Mets’ fan base.

Now that the team has ruled out bringing in Adam Lind, A-Gon figures to have that spot virtually sewn up.

The seemingly reviled Jose Reyes, still a capable and valuable asset in a bench role, in my opinion, seems destined for that exact spot on this year’s edition of our boys in Orange & Blue. If Callaway decides that he would give this team a better opportunity to win, then that’s exactly what he’s going to do.

If Zack Wheeler (who looked decent Tuesday night when his pitches didn’t get creamed by Nats’ players), against his initial protests, is asked to pitch out of the bullpen in order to increase this team’s chances of success, he’ll accept it and move forward.

And, against any of our protests, so will we. For us, as a fanbase, to be as hard on players as we are sometimes when it’s so far out of our control what ends up happening to them, professionally or personally, dumbfounds me.

Are we passionate? Sure. Do we love our team? Naturally. While it’s perfectly acceptable to boo a player after he has a tough couple of weeks, it’s not OK to rip apart a player, at times on very personal levels, because he isn’t who you would choose to play.

Being a fan is so much more than rooting for your team to win. But it doesn’t include having a pass to spread vitriol. Complain, whine, second-guess until your face falls off… But, please, keep it classy.

This is one of, if not the best fan bases in all of baseball. Let’s act that way, no matter who takes the field in two weeks’ time, how many games this team wins, or how long Gonzo lasts at first.